December 23, 2013

High Society ~ A Gorgeous Café & Restaurant At Pacific Plaza

The task of deciding a place for dinner landed on me once again as we started planning for an evening of fellowship with our dear sisters in Christ before two of the blessed ones leaves for their walk with Jesus in Israel - They will be spending Christmas in Bethlehem! Envy much hehee! I thought High Society at Pacific Plaza would be a suitable venue for all the girls as it's located along Scotts Road and easily accessible by a few minutes walk from Orchard mrt station. Besides, the Baroque-inspired décor of the restaurant is gorgeous! Perfect for camwhoring lol!

Chequer Italian marble flooring, gold chandeliers and red velvet drapes greeted us as we entered and made our way up the flight of stairs to the second level where I remembered the dining setting to be more cosy and intimate but it has since undergone a nocturnal transformation into a supper bar and lounge.

Not quite the ambience I was looking for and it didn't help that there was a private function going on, so we had to be accommodating to the bigger group. We're appreciative of the efforts which the staff has gone into making us feel as comfortable as possible, but still, if we were informed beforehand when I called to make a table reservation, it would be greatly useful in helping us manage our expectations.

High Society features a seasonal food menu which changes every 3 months, as well as an extensive standard one which is reflective of modern European fusion cuisine, comprising of pastas like Seafood Laksa Spaghetti ($27), gourmet sandwiches and mains such as Oxtail Stew ($25) and Bangers & Mash ($25).

We placed our trust on the Autumn Set Menu which seems promising. For S$58++, we get to enjoy a 4-course set which include Soup of the Day, choice of Starters, Mains and Desserts. The prices stated below are what we would have paid if we ordered them ala-carte.

We commenced with the Soup of the Day ($10), a rather forgettable light vegetable consomme before moving on to the more pleasing Tobiko and Lobster Salad (not available ala-carte) of marinated rock lobster, fresh crunchy greens, pine nuts and a tiny dollop of caviar, all tied together with an appetizing tangy dressing.

Chicken Yakitori ($14) was not as tender as I prefer it to be, but still the bite-sized chicken cubes in their coat of well-caramelized teriyaki sauce with bell peppers was easy to polish off. Ditto for the little morsels of Button Mushroom Escargot ($16).

Moving on to the mains, the Bacon & Foie Gras Burger ($29) was quite a sad assembly with an overly dry duck liver but fortunately redeemed with slices of aromatic crisp bacon. It's hard to go wrong with Pan-seared Seabass (not available ala-carte) when the fish was decently fresh and served with comforting mashed potato, sauteed peppers and creamy dill sauce.

Pan-seared Chicken ($25) looked like your run-of-mill chicken chop but was surprisingly enjoyable with its succulent thigh meat and tasty in-house raisin sauce. The burger and chicken was served with truffle fries which would usually get us excited, but not in this case as the scent of truffle oil was almost non-existent.

On top of the set menu, we also ordered two mains from the ala-carte selection: Duck Confit ($28), a duck leg slow-cooked in its own fats and Angus Ribeye ($38), a 200g of grain-fed ribeye pan-seared to medium-rare doneness and drizzled with bordeaux sauce.

Overall, I wouldn't describe the food as exemplary but it's not inedible either, though it's
generally felt that there's room for improvement. In any case, there's always desserts to look forward to.

High Society is famously known for their exquisite Cupcakes ($6), Minicakes ($9-$12) and Macaroons ($2.30). Even if you do not have a sweet tooth, one dessert you'd definitely have to order would be the Ispahan ($9), a remake of Pierre Hermé's signature creation.

The combination of rose buttercream, raspberries, lychee and soft pink macaroon stacked delicately into a piece of mini visual art is certainly appealing and lovely in all senses. This became my favourite item of that evening.

Thank you girls for making time to spend the evening together and for remembering it's nearing my birthday too. It was a bit awkward as the server asked me which cake I want the candle for as I ordered dessert so I decided to do away with it lol. Nevertheless, I'm happy for your thoughts, lovely gifts and birthday wishes. Blessed much :)

Overpriced cafe type food with poor service. Spent $200 for two people on Valentine's day without any alcohol since the only thing available on that day is a $128 set for two (with just a couple choices of mains range $20-$30 normally). Dessert sucks as well and there is even no filtered water. Cant believe this restaurant is called HIGH SOCIETY and is located in MBS.